McCain: Are earmarks really a concern?

— The Wall Street Journal focuses on McCain's crusade against earmarks. "But earmarks represent only a tiny portion of federal spending, and experts say the Arizona Republican has vastly overstated the savings available even if every earmark were eliminated. "They're a rounding error in the budget," said Robert Bixby of the Concord Coalition, which advocates for balanced federal budgets. Nor is it clear that voters are anywhere near as upset about earmarking as is Sen. McCain, who prides himself on never having requested such spending for his state. But the issue does resonate, analysts say, when it is connected with larger failures of Washington."